World Happiness Report

Natalia Maldonado

2025-01-23

Data Sources and Collection Process

Sources

The data used in the World Happiness Report is derived from:

• Gallup World Poll: Provides survey responses from over 150 countries.
• World Bank: Supplies economic indicators like GDP per capita adjust for purchasing power parity.
• World Health Organization (WHO): Offers health-related data, such as life expectancy.

Data Collection Process

• Surveys: Respondents answer a series of questions about their lives and perceptions. Gallup collects data through face-to-face, telephone, and online surveys, using a probabilistic sampling method to ensure the sample is representative of the population.
• Economic and Health Data: Collected from global institutions such as the World Bank and WHO to complement survey responses, ensuring a more comprehensive picture of the factors influencing happiness.

Data

Happiness Data
Country	year	LogGDP	SocialSup	HealthExp	Freedom	Generosity	Corruption	PosAffect	NegAffect	Region	OriginalGDP
Bulgaria	2023	10.272790	0.9349162	66.7	0.7543243	-0.13129753	0.9478562	0.5394388	0.1918842	Central and Eastern Europe + CIS	33403.376
China	2023	9.860808	0.7969825	69.0	0.7933784	-0.03157096	NA	0.7079852	0.2103501	Asia	22137.600
Colombia	2023	9.666558	0.8332084	69.7	0.8234711	-0.14246459	0.8702267	0.7541034	0.2854169	Latin America and Caribbean	18692.385
India	2023	8.919471	0.6328966	61.5	0.8996010	0.12088692	0.7698518	0.6987651	0.3885257	Asia	9160.064
Iran	2023	9.650888	0.8094789	66.9	0.6154001	0.25360298	0.7642531	0.5333526	0.4246328	Middle East and Africa	16154.000
Luxembourg	2023	11.648711	0.8791953	71.7	0.9108133	0.03343977	0.3432108	0.7507005	0.1944953	NorthAmerica + ANZ +Western EU	132846.574

Happiness Score Data
Country	Happiness	year
Afghanistan	1.7210	2024
Afghanistan	1.8590	2023
Afghanistan	2.4038	2022
Afghanistan	2.5229	2021
Afghanistan	2.5669	2020
Afghanistan	3.2033	2019

Variables

• Log GDP per Capita: Adjusted economic output per person adjusted for purchasing power parity.
  
  Source: World Bank.
• Social Support: % of respondents with reliable friends or family.
  
  Question: “Do you have family or friends you can count on in times of trouble?”
  
  Source: Gallup World Poll.
• Healthy Life Expectancy: Expected years of healthy living.
  
  Source: World Health Organization (WHO).
• Freedom to Make Life Choices: % feeling free to make personal decisions.
  
  Question: “Are you satisfied with your freedom to make life choices?”
  
  Source: Gallup World Poll.

Variables

• Generosity: % donating money to charity recently.
  
  Question: “Did you donate money to charity in the last month?”
  
  Source: Gallup World Poll.
• Perceptions of Corruption: Trust in public institutions (inverse).
  
  Question: “Is corruption widespread in the government or business?”
  
  Source: Gallup World Poll.
• Positive Affect: % of respondents who smiled or laughed a lot yesterday.
  
  Question: “Did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday?”
  
  Source: Gallup World Poll.
• Negative Affect: % of respondents who experienced sadness, anger, or worry yesterday.
  
  Question: “Did you experience sadness, anger, or worry yesterday?”
  
  Source: Gallup World Poll.

Map

Correlation Heatmap between Variables

Top & Bottom 5 Countries by Happiness Score

Comparison of the Happiness Report between Regions

Happiness Score vs GDP per Capita

Happiness Score vs GDP per Capita

Positive Affect by Region

Comparison Happiness Score and Positive Affect

Conclusion

• Happiness as Multifaceted: Combines factors such as economy, health, social relationships, and daily emotions.
• Key Insights from Data:
• Economic Wealth: Important but insufficient for high happiness levels.
• Standout Regions:
  - Latin America & Southeast Asia: Exceed expectations due to positive emotions and strong social support.
• Positive Emotions: Significant in certain cultures but not always reflected in overall happiness scores.
• Personal Observations:
• Wealthy countries (e.g., Luxembourg, Ireland): Ideal material conditions, yet fewer positive emotions.
• Latin America: Joy and daily optimism are central to well-being.